Hi there - I entered my first submission grappling competition recently. I have been going ground work for about a year now and I find that I can pretty much dominate everyone in my club, with positioning and submissions - I thought that this was not an indication of how 'good' I was but more how unskilled my fellow students were. So, to put my self to the test I entered my self into a competition. I trained hard, putting in extra self-training hours on Saturday morning with some of the guys that were entering with me. I kept my weight to under 70Kg - a weight I was comfortable with - more so when I saw the under 75Kg competitors! I was nervous and watching the other guys in my weight division warm up made me more anxious - I thought ‘what am I doing here, I’ll be embarrassed – tapped out in seconds’ I was feeling the usual pre-fight uncertainties, the insecurities – my fight was the third one – I stepped on to the mat – thinking ‘well here it is – go for it’. I was slightly bigger than my opponent and so I knew I would have the strength advantage. As we were grappling I found my self move in slow motion – well that’s how he seemed to me – but looking back on the fight we were rolling about like two cats fighting! After some arm-bar attempts, I eventually submitted my opponent by rear-naked choke. I was pleased; won my first fight by submission. I had two more fights to do - both of which I lost on points. Overall I was pleased with my performance. And more importantly, I overcame any doubt I had as a fighter. I am not that experienced, but I am now looking forward to many more competitions (plus the nerves that accompany them)…